


Dance Like No One Is Watching

by WhenWeNextMeetMyFriends



Series: Dancing to the heart of the problem: a dancetale au [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Dancetale, If you want backstory, In the Series, Other, Read the shitstain that was book 1, Story 2, This is better I promise, but with more dance, undertale - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2018-09-24 19:22:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9781517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhenWeNextMeetMyFriends/pseuds/WhenWeNextMeetMyFriends
Summary: After a hard total reset, you have... weird dreams. The one thing that connects them is a girl with red hair falling through a hole. In hopes of finding the answers, you head to the place where all monsters are trapped, only about 14 years old, when you fall, with your sibling Frisk in tow.In the underground, it's all about dance, and finding your own personal style. With Frisk doing ballet like a natural, and you stumbling over your feet every 2 seconds, you struggle to find your own dance. But with danger lurking in every corner, will you continue to listen to Frisk and spare everyone, or kill out of frustration?Find out, in Dance Like No One Is Watching





	1. Decisions

You felt like something in life was... missing. It sucked enough, being 14 and struggling to support both your alcohol and substance-abusing father, and your 10 year old sibling Frisk. You did everything you could to earn money at such a young age. You would work at stores carrying groceries for people, wash cars in the summer, mow lawns, anything people were willing to pay for.

You hated seeing the pity in their eyes. They would only see your ragged, torn and dirty clothes, the shoes you had outgrown a while ago now falling apart, and judge you,  _pity_ you. Yeah, you may be poor but that doesn't mean you have it worse than anyone else. At least you could make money for Frisk and help them have a decent life. If they were happy, you would be happy. 

So... you didn't understand why you were drawn there. You didn't want to disappear as legend warned you would, yet you were pulled in that direction. The direction of Mt. Ebott, where legends spoke of all who climbed vanishing. Kids had played there and vanished, along with adults, teachers... people who wanted to disappear.

Every night your dreams would be filled with dark, garbled memories, the only bit of clarity the flashes of red heading into a cave on the side of the mountain. You were too curious, and the only thing keeping you from investigating was Frisk.

Frisk needed you, your dad needed you, yet you ever considered disappearing? Yes... yes you did. You had so much to do for your sibling, but the temptation of just vanishing sounded nice. Leaving everything behind you and just... stopping your existence sounded like a great option. You know Frisk would be mad, but... this is for the best.

So, you left. You walked out of the house, no intention of turning back, leaving only a gift for when Frisk got home from school (You had stopped going long ago, it was unnecessary for you) and headed to the mountain.

The box you left on the counter contained a blue and purple sweater, one they had wanted for a while. You had saved for months to buy it for them as a 10th birthday gift, but that's all unnecessary.

You began a trek up the mountain in seemingly no time at all, only grabbing a branch you could use as a walking stick. You let your feet carry you to your destination, allowing some time for your thoughts to wander as you did this. You shouldn't do this, you know that. Yet you can't stop, the idea of just... letting everything carry on around you sounded too tempting. 

Sure, you'd be leaving Frisk behind you. They would be... alone in this world. Just a kid, barely 10 years old... that alone made you turn back to face the town. You were going to run back, find them and beg for forgiveness in leaving them-no. You can't. You've gone too far for this moment, worked harder than any 14 year old should work. You weren't meant to exist, so you continued up on your journey.

The cave seemed placed by destiny. It waited for you to walk in and curl up for a while to just... die. So you did walk in, and you did see the hole, and you were going to just jump when-

"Y/N!"

You turned, and smiled a bit at the sight of them. Their cheeks were flushed, their brown eyes filled with tears, and they were wearing the sweater you left them. They were distressed, but you smiled anyways.

"Frisk..." You pleaded with your eyes for them to take your hand, lead you back down the mountain... but fate had other plans. Something wrapped around your leg, and your feet were pulled from under you.

You were dragged to the pit, clawing at the ground in hopes of stopping, and their hands wrapped around your wrists. You stared up at them, still being pulled down into the pit, and bit back a cry of desperation, for them to let go and run and get help and  _do something other than join you and your self-chosen fate._

But they didn't. And together, you fell into the pit, the item that had dragged you down vanishing before you could see it. 

You fell, and something grew within you. 

**_I don't want to die._ **

****And you didn't.


	2. I've got rhythm, I've got music, I've got my Frisk who could ask for anything more?

You felt like falling took longer than it should have. You counted a good 9 seconds on the fall down, yet you weren't a grease stain. You weren't even knocked out, which gave you a chance to look for any injuries.

Arms? Check. Legs? Check. Chest? Not a problem. Head? Nothing. You were perfectly fine, yet by looking up you could only see the hole as a tiny pinprick way up above. Staring at it, you could hardly believe you were actually alive. It was hard to take in, but by looking around the dimly lit cave, you could somehow sense that yes, you were alive and well and... in the underground.

The underground was something every human knew about, yet few believed. It was hard to believe that so long ago monsters were just left down here to be forgotten about and to... vanish. They were left to be forgotten by humans, and... you suppose the humans who did this got their wish.

You sat up slowly, and finally took a good look at your surroundings. Dark cave check, light up above is normal, but... why did you happen to land on flowers? And why was there a tutu nearby? You didn't know, but looking at it made you sad. It looked like someone had abandoned it here, or maybe just lost it. You went to grab it, then remembered.

Frisk! Did they really... You looked around, and saw them nearby, slowly sitting up as well. They had a cut on their cheek, but looked otherwise unharmed. You breathed a sigh of relief, getting up to run over to them instead of the tutu.

"Frisk, are you..." You trailed off, digging in your pockets for something. You pulled out an old bandaid, one that had never been used but had been sitting in your pocket for who knows how long, and placed it on their cheek. The cut was covered up, and you wiped away the bit of blood still lingering.

"I... I'm alright Y/N..." You smiled a bit, helping them stand, and watched as they looked around. "We... really fell..."

"Yeah, we did." You looked up to the hole, and sighed. "We should... try and find a way out of here."

"What's this?" You looked back to the younger sibling to see Frisk had picked up the abandoned tutu. You shrugged, looking around and grabbing the stick you'd brought with you as a walking stick. At least this way you could defend yourself if needed.

When you looked back to Frisk you saw they were wearing the tutu. You laughed a bit, and they giggled as well. "I'm gonna keep it."

"You do you, Frisk." You held out your hand, and they took it. "Come on little ballerina, let's get out of here."

They nodded, and together you headed for an opening in the wall, hoping it would lead somewhere helpful. Instead... you found a flower bouncing to music. The music was weird, like a kids song. The flower grinned at the sight of you and Frisk, and only then you noticed it had a face.

"Howdy!" You jumped back, moving in front of Frisk, but the flower just continued speaking, "I'm Flowey, Flowey the flower!" 

You nodded a bit, smiling uneasily at the flower, but Frisk grinned wide and waved innocently. You could tell something bad was about to happen, but they seemed relaxed, so you attempted to calm down.

"Hmm... you two must be new to the underground. It must be very confusing for you. Someone ought to teach ya how things work down here..." He paused a moment, as if thinking. "Guess little ol' me will have ta do."

Everything darkened, and you saw a silvery glow emit from your chest. Frisk, on the other hand, was glowing red, and stepped out from behind your back to face the flower. Flowey giggled a bit, and you held your branch closer.

"See that glow? That's your SOUL, the very culmination of your being! SOUL's start off weak, but can grow stronger if they gain a lot of LV. What's LV? Why LOVE of course!"

Yeah, nope. You did not trust this situation at all. The music was growing louder, and seemed more sinister than anything to you. You went to run back into the cave, but something prevented you from going more than a few feet.

"Down here, LOVE is shared... through DANCE!" The flower wiggled a bit as if demonstrating a dance. "Every monster down here has their own form of DANCE, and each form has different ways of sharing LOVE. My LOVE is shared through..."

A bunch of white bullets flew up around Flowey, and you gulped. "...little white... FRIENDLINESS pellets!"

You ran over to Frisk, and grabbed their shoulder, holding them close. They struggled a bit against your hold, but you didn't let go. No trusting the flower for you.

"You both want some LOVE, don't'cha?" Frisk nodded, and you cursed yourself for not being able to escape this. Flowey's grin grew, and he laughed a bit.

"DANCE around, grab all the pellets!" They flew at you, but one touch from Frisk had them crying out in pain and collapsing. You had managed to dodge them all, and knelt by your sibling as Flowey's laugh grew dark.

"You IDIOT! In this world, it's  **kill or be killed.** Who would  _ever_ pass up on an opportunity like this!?!"

A circle of the white pellets surrounded you both, and you curled yourself over Frisk as if you could defend them. "Two human SOUL's! Imagine how much  **power** I'd have! DIE!"

The ring closed in, and you felt Frisk shaking as the music was completely covered up by Flowey's laugh. You squeezed your eyes shut, awaiting the inevitable, but... nothing happened. You heard Flowey's laugh stop, and a small yelp of confusion from him. You glanced up to see something towering over you. You gulped, terrified that this monster would hurt Frisk any more, but as the monster came over you could see it was... wearing a dress.

The monster was tall and bit, but... it was also fuzzy and white. It smiled, and you felt a bit calmer at the sight of it. It wouldn't hurt you, you could just tell.

"What a miserable creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth." Her voice was motherly and calm, and the music that came from her was soft and gentle. You saw the glows from you and Frisk vanish, only to be replaced by a green light. Frisk peeked up, and you could tell they felt much better.

"Hello there children. Do not be afraid, for I am Toriel, caretaker of these ruins. I come by here every day to see if someone has fallen." You stand, still making sure Frisk is close by- just in case -and smile.

"You both look very tired and confused. Come, I will guide you through the catacombs." She held out a furry hand, and you took it. You knew with her, you'd be safe. Frisk would be safe.

She led you through a passage out of the area where you fought Flowey, and into a room with staircases and red leaves. Seeing the ruins looming above fills you with a desire to make sure at least Frisk got out of this alive. If nothing else, you would selflessly defend Frisk. You smiled a bit, then followed Toriel on through the ruins.


	3. Wait, you can dance?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Puzzles, puzzles and more puzzles. Y/N and Frisk continue their journey through the ruins in hopes of finding their way out of the underground. They learn about dance battles, mercy, and Y/N feels like they're being watched...

The color purple starts to grate on you after a while. Especially when it's on every wall, the floor, and the only contrast is the occasional bit of grey. Yet you persist on with Frisk, following Toriel as she guides you through the ruins. Paths merge together until you come across the first puzzle.

A pattern of pressure plates sits in front of the door leading on, and Toriel turns to you and Frisk.

"To get past these types of puzzles, you must dance in a specific way over the series of plates. One wrong move will send you tumbling down. Normally I'd let you figure it out on your own but..." She smiled kindly, "Observe."

In a very graceful pattern, Toriel glided through a pattern that you struggled to remember. She ended by the door, and waved for you to follow. You turned to Frisk, but saw them already following the path. Wait, since when did they know ballet?

They were as graceful as Toriel when going across the plates, and she applauded as they landed by her. She turned to you to go next, and you nervously gulped. It was a struggle for you, moving. You were never graceful and often fell flat on your face. You squeezed your eyes shut, hoping not to embarrass yourself, and opened them to go on.

Step one was a little ways to your right, so you did a little leap and wobbled. You cursed, squeezing your eyes out, when Frisk called to you.

"Y/N! Don't focus so hard on this pattern. Hear the music that can guide you!" You looked up to your younger sibling who was giving an encouraging grin. You nodded, relaxing a bit, and that's when you heard it.

(I recommend listening to some of the undertale sountrack, especially ruins for this part. Ty ~Sky)

It was a soft tune, sounded like piano, and seemed to swell in volume as you focused on it. It felt like it was all around, emanating from the walls, the floor, the ceiling, Toriel. You swayed a bit, holding your stick close, and did your best. 

Using the stick for balance, you leapt to the next platform. You still stumbled, but kept your balance slightly better. You closed your eyes, felt the music for a bit longer, then continued on with the pattern.

Forward and right, then back and left, on and on you went until you were stood next to Toriel and Frisk. You smiled, and gestured to the door with your stick.

"Shall we continue?" Toriel smiled and nodded at your words, and the door onwards opened up leading into... more purple. Great. This is gonna be a long journey if the entire underground is like this.

You continued on, still feeling the music everywhere, shifting and repeating as if it were... a story. Alive, even. It both comforted and unnerved you, but by the look on Frisk's face they were calm about it. Toriel seemed to be so used to it she hardly paid it any heed. In fact, it seemed to guide her movements as she gracefully glided ahead of you, only stopping next to a training dummy.

"Like with that flower earlier, you may encounter monsters that wish to battle," She spoke, and the music seemed to change to something a bit more vigerous. "You will engage in a dance battle with them, where both sides throw attacks at the other until one side passes out or loses otherwise. But... I do not want this from you. So, if you come across a monster that wishes to battle, try talking to them. Stall for time, and I will come rescue you."

Frisk nodded, but you weren't so sure about it. Battling like this sounded dangerous for Frisk, so you'd have to be able to defend them. "Try talking to this dummy here."

You walked up to the dummy, unsure about this, but Frisk struck up a pretty great conversation, enough to satisfy Toriel. You didn't know Frisk knew so much about quantum physics, but hey, if they like it then they like it. It's their hobby.

"Come along, my children. We have much to see."

The next time Toriel stopped was in a passage full of switches. Some had bit obnoxious yellow arrows pointing to them, which confused you until Toriel spoke more. "This is another puzzle, but I have labelled the switches for you to pull."

Frisk ran up to one of the switches, and you cruised over to a different one. At the same time, you pulled, and opened up another passage. Toriel rejoined you both at the entrance to the tunnel, and you turned back for just a moment to see a flash of gold disappearing into the ground.  _Flowey_.

A chill ran down your spine at the thought of him following you, but you couldn't think much on it as Frisk tugged you along after Toriel.

The next puzzle was one you were sure you could've figured out given time, but instead Toriel led you and Frisk along down a safe path. At the end, you felt a tug in your chest to your right, and turned to see a small frog. He seemed innocent enough, and croaked adorably. You smiled, and complimented him politely. Before you two could do more, Toriel showed up and the frog ran off. Pity, you would've liked to say more to that frog.

The next room, Toriel turned to you and Frisk with a concerned look on her face. "I'm sorry my children, but I have something to ask of you. I need you to walk to the end of the hall on your own. I'm sorry."

Toriel ran off down the endless purple hallway, and Frisk frowned. "Goat mama, wait!" Frisk dashed after the goat, and you were forced to chase after them.

You finally stopped at the end, where from behind a pillar Toriel appeared, looking distraught.

"Wonderful job, my children, but I have to ask something else. That was merely a test of your independence, as now I must as you to wait here until I return."

You went to raise some concerns, but she interrupted you. "I shall give you a cell phone, in hopes that you'll contact me if there's any issues."

From a pocket in her dress, she pulled out... a nokia. Great, one of the must durable phones on the planet that can call and play snake. Wonderful. You pocketed it, as Frisk was busy getting comfy sitting up against the pillar Toriel had hid behind. You looked up to thank the goat lady, but she was gone.

You went to sit by Frisk, but they stood right up. You jumped back a bit at the suddenness, but they looked at you with a determined glance on their face.

"We're gonna go show Toriel we can make it on our own. Right, Y/N?" 

You smiled down at them and nodded. "Yeah, sure. But how?"

"Like this." With that, Frisk walked out of the room and into a different hall. You followed, and saw they had begun playing in a pile of leaves. Seeing them innocently playing in a pile of leaves filled you with an urge to keep them safe no matter what. You laughed, and joined them in the leaves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, sorry if this is a bad chapter. I don't do the writing thing well. Sorry.  
> QOTD: Do you think Y/N is a boy or a girl?


	4. Love, not LOVE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Puzzles, and a little bit of a stumble.

After playing in the leaves a while, your phone rang. You looked down to see the contact name 'Toriel', and grinned, answering it.

"Hello my children! I hope you have not left the room yet?"

You nodded slowly, shooting Frisk a look that said 'say nothing'. They nodded as well, and Toriel continued on.

"There are some functions of the underground I have not taught you yet, along with a few difficult puzzles."

You shrugged, figuring you'd work it out when you got there.

"By the way, do you prefer cinnamon or butterscotch?"

You shrugged, looking to Frisk who said "Cinnamon!"

"Thank you my child." The line went dead, and you stood, holding a hand out for your younger sibling.

"Come on Frisky, we should get moving if we wanna find our way out of here." They nodded, taking your hand and brushing their clothes free of all leaves. You looked both ways, in one direction seeing the hall continue, the other held a door leading to a pedestal with a bowl of candy atop it. You decide to go into the room to inspect the candy, and Frisk follows. 

On the way to the room, you pass the little frog you met earlier. Smiling, you kneel down to his level, to see if he had anything to say.

"Ribbit." (Hello, human.) 

You were surprised when his words translated for you, but it was nice.

"Ribbit." (Down here, if you talk to a monster enough, or hurt it until it is near death, it will wish to escape the battle.) "Ribbit." (When it does this, please. Use MERCY).

You nod, and he croaks once more before going silent. You head into the room with the candy, and reach into the bowl to grab a piece. Frisk tugs at your pants leg, and you smile, grabbing a piece for them as well. You stick your candy in your pocket while Frisk pops theirs into their mouth.

"Let's move on." You head out of the room, only to feel your SOUL tugged into another battle. You hold out your stick only to see a weird bug thing that's... crying? Something tells you it's name is Whimsum, and it seems like it needs some cheering up.

You smile at it, and begin to speak, but before you can say much the battle ends and the monster runs away crying. You frown, feeling bad, and find it dropped a bit of something shiny on the ground. You kneel down to find 2 gold pieces where the Whimsum was flying. You pocket them, and turn to Frisk, who seems as confused as you.

"Let's uh... just keep moving." You continued walking down the hall, Frisk at your side and you soon came across your first puzzle.

At the end of the room was a doorway blocked by spikes. To get there, however, it seemed like you needed to follow a certain path, as the ground looked quite unsteady. You turned to Frisk, and they looked strangely determined. 

They took a small step, and remained steady. Looking around for a moment, they pursed their lip and jumped. You called out to them to stop, but they seemed to land safely near the other side. One more jump carried them across and to a sturdy platform near the doorway. It was still blocked, but by looking around you could see a yellow switch waiting to be pulled.

You bit your lip, and took the first jump, one foot going through the ground while the rest of you landed safely. You shook a moment, slowly standing up, and glanced to the switch. Looking close, you could see the ground waving slightly except for one place, which you hoped would be solid land. You backed up as much as possible on your platform, and jumped, landing right next to the switch. You laughed, victorious, and pulled it down before turning to Frisk. The doorway cleared, and you searched for your next path.

You took another jump towards some stable ground... but missed. You hit the area just in front, and the ground easily gave way beneath you. You fell, and faintly heard Frisk's call as you hit the ground.

Immediately, you feel pain flare up in your chest as you land, along with your right arm, which you'd held out to stop you. You lay on the new ground, mouth open but no sound coming out, and just let the pain die down to a numb before even attempting to move. You slowly sat up, holding your hurt arm close, and wince as the movement causes more pain to surface.

"Y/N!" You could hear Frisk faintly up above, and they sounded worried. "Are you okay?"

"Just... peachy." You stood up, looking towards the hole above, and sighed. "Keep going! I'll find you, promise!"

"I don't wanna leave you!" Frisk replied, peering down from a nearby stable platform.

"I promise to catch up!" You waved them away with your good arm, and smiled. "Be safe, kay kid?"

"Gods I hate you sometimes." Frisk shook their head, but vanished. "I'm not leaving these ruins until you catch up young lady."

"Alright alright." You heard them hop away, and sighed. You felt something strong flood through you, a determined feeling to find Frisk, and keep them safe. For now, you could hardly do that yourself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah. I did that. I split up you and Frisk because I figured, hey, I wanna change a lot of things about the layout, so why not show a whole underground area of the underground? They did it in Undertale Yellow, so why can't I?
> 
> Yes, you will see Toriel again, and you'll meet up with Frisk eventually. Don't worry your pretty lil' tails off. 
> 
> QOTD: Who is your favorite undertale character? (Other than Sans)


	5. Movin and groovin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You venture on into the dark abyss on your own, finding your own way of dancing to get through it all.

Once Frisk was gone, you looked to your surroundings. Ahead of you was a dark pathway, filled with the unknown. Otherwise, there were no other routes or paths you could follow. Resigned to fate, you started down the path ahead.

Before you could take more than a few steps, you felt your SOUL tugged into another dance battle. You were facing off against a frog once more, but this one was wiggling along to the music that had become background noise to you. The stick in your hands felt right, easy to twirl and maneuver to your will.

"Hey little bud," You called, trying to stay calm in the heat of the battle. You knew you wouldn't hurt this frog, but if it attacked you might be forced to retaliate. "You look cute today." The frog didn't seem to understand your words, but was flattered anyways. It hopped around, dancing with some white bugs that came at you.

You used the stick to twirl around, knocking the bugs aside effortlessly. It seemed natural to twirl the stick like this, as you had done often with a broom in your house while cleaning by yourself. The frog disappeared quickly enough, hopping away with a small croak of goodbye. It was going the way you had come from, which meant you would be alone on the path ahead. Great. Just great. With a small sigh you continued onward, hoping this whole nightmare would end soon enough.

You were worried about how Frisk was doing, knowing they hadn't been on their own often. You had always been there to protect them from danger, taking hits often meant for them. But now they would have to defend themself, long enough for you to find them again. You had to hurry, to keep them safe.

The pain in your chest and arms dissipated as you took the candy from earlier and popped it into your mouth. It was sweet, but not too sweet. A perfect amount of sweetness. You were sad when the candy disappeared into nothing, but at least it took your injuries with it.

As you walked, a glint of something caught your eye. You paused, turning to the side to see a site that took your breath away. A gleaming silver pole was leaned up against the wall, with a silky flag attached to it. Upon closer inspection with a nearby torch light, you saw a strange rune on the silk, the same one on Toriel's dress. You glanced between the stick and the flag, trying to decide on what to keep.

Wait.

Why were you so caught up with this flag? It was beautiful, sure, but not something that you thought was worth carrying. It looked heavy, and it was taller than you. Tape was on either end, possibly preventing it from being dented as it was swung around.

Another question.

How did you know it was meant to be swung around? You knew people used flags to show off during marching band shows and whatever, but it had never interested you... until now. Thinking back on the very rare times you had seen people with these flags, you recalled them being graceful and elegant, showing off the various twirls and tosses with ease. In this moment, you felt a surge of emotion. You  _had_ to have this flag, to use it like those marchers did. Without another moments hesitation, you threw the stick aside and took the flag.

It was lighter than you imagine. Perfectly balanced in your hands, somehow this felt right. Like you were meant to hold this flag. While inspecting it further, you noticed a brown strap attached to both ends of the flag. It was a shoulder strap, for convenience while walking. You slung the flag over your shoulder with ease, and continued down your chosen path.

No matter what would come at you, you would be ready for it. A surge of selflessness passed through you, along with the determination needed to get back to Frisk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm baaaaaaack! Holy crap I didn't think I could ever finish this. I came back to reread and decide whether to rewrite or not, but... I liked my beginning enough to keep it. I figure things can only get better from here, so I will keep going.
> 
> I also have a proposal for you. I want to add in the other 6 human SOULs at some point, and figured the best way to do that was to use the readers. So! If you wanna have your character introduced as a SOUL, leave the name and soul color below. First come, first serve.
> 
> QOTD: What is your favorite type of dance? I personally love colorguard/flag dancing, as is obvious in this chapter. Although pole dancing is a lot of fun as well...

**Author's Note:**

> Hahah. I should've waited longer before posting this, but you know what? Fuck it, just fuck it. Take this hopefully better than the last story. I will attempt not to write myself into here more than I should, but just... please continue on.  
> Also, with this I'm gonna do a kinda question of the day, or qotd  
> So, QOTD is: What made you click on my story?


End file.
